Winding jig



y 1969 v H. J. KOPPISCH 3,445,072

WINDING JIG Filed June 6, 1966 INVENTOR. HEINZ J. KOPPISCH By 19, 66 zpw Atlornev United States Patent 3,445,072 WINDING. JIG Heinz Juergen Koppisch, 98 Addington Crescent, Bramalea, Ontario, Canada Filed June 6, 1966, Ser. No. 555,306 Int. Cl. B6511 81/06 US. Cl. 2427.21 2 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A portable winding jig is provided for holding a pipe or the like to be covered with strand. The jig includes two body portions, each housing a mating slot of different diameters together defining a shouldered passageway through which the pipe is moved. Strand is drawn through a groove in one of the body portions perpendicular to the passageway and intersecting it at said shoulder so that rotation of the pipe along with an axial movement of same will wrap the strand about the pipe.

This invention relates to a winding jig, and more particularly to a jig for winding tight contiguous turns of one or a plurality of strands of wrapping material about a pipe or mandrel.

It has been the practice, when winding or wrapping an article such as a cable, pipe, or other article serving as a mandrel, to feed the wrapping material longitudinally along the article to be wrapped to a jig which is spun around the article and moved along its length. Such a method of winding or wrapping generally produces a loose or open-wrapped product; i.e. one in which the adjacent turns of wrapping material are not contiguous, and in which the pitch between turns is oftentimes greater than the diameter of the wrapping material. Additionally, such devices require complicated bearing means to permit the "g to spin; and the jig had either to be spun by hand or by complicated spinning apparatus. Further, such prior known devices were usually unsuitable for soft wrapping materials having a low tensile strength, such as plastic or vinyl.

It is an object of this invention to provide a winding jig which wraps one or a plurality of strands of wrapping material about a mandrel and in which the adjacent turns are contiguous.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a winding jig which will wrap several strands of a material about a mandrel in barber-pole fashion so that adjacent wrapped turns are contiguous, but not from the same spool of wrapping material.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a winding jig which does not turn about the mandrel, but rather in which the mandrel turns through the jig and in which relative longitudinal motion between the jig and mandrel is provided by the co-action of the jig and the last wrapped turn.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a method of wrapping a pipe or mandrel using a winding jig which does not, in itself, turn about the pipe or mandrel to be wrapped.

Yet another object of this invention is to provide a winding jig which will wrap materials having low tensile strengths.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become more evident in the following discussion in association with the accompanying drawings, and in which:

FIGURE 1 is an exploded view of an embodiment of the winding jig;

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FIGURE 2 illustrates the winding jig in ghosted lines as it is in operation Wrapping a pipe; and

FIGURE 3 illustrates a pipe being wound with two separate strands of wrapping material.

The present invention provides a winding jig having groove means to accommodate at least a single strand of wrapping material. A circular passageway is situated near one end of the jig and is substantially perpendicular to the groove means and in communication therewith. The passageway accommodates the mandrel upon which wrapping material is to be wound, and comprises two adjacent portions with different diameters on a common axis. The diameters in the passageway are such that the smaller diameter accommodates the unwrapped mandrel and the larger diameter accommodates the wrapped mandrel; i.e. the larger diameter is the smaller diameter plus twice the thickness of the wrapping material. Each of the diameters of the passageway is greater than the depth of the groove which is sufiicient only to accommodate the thickness of the wrapping material. The passageway is adapted to be split longitudinally into two portions which comprise complementary segments of a circle, and which, when applied about the mandrel, accommodate same as hereinabove stated. A step is provided between the two portions of the passageway having the differing diameters in a manner as will be discussed hereafter.

The winding jig 10 comprises, in its preferred embodiment, first and second body portions 11 and 12 respectively. It will be noted that the thickness of body portion 11 is greater than that of body portion 12. A lateral slot 13a and 13b is positioned towards an end of body portion 11, and a slot 14a and 14b is likewise positioned towards an end of body portion 12.

It will be clear from FIGURE 1 that when body portions 11 and 12-are joined together in co-operating relationship, slots 13a and 13b and 14a and 14b join to create a circular passageway which will fully encompass the mandrel, as illustrated in FIGURE 2. A step 15 is positioned between slot portions 13a and 13b and between slot portions 14a and 14b. It will be seen that the two adjacent portions of the passageway, being 13a, 14a and 13b, 14b, have a common axis which will coincide with the axis of a mandrel when in position. Step 15 separates the two portions of the passageway having differing diameters. The greater depth of body portion 11 than of body portion 12 is such that the segment of a circle created by a right sectional view of either slot 13a or slot 13b is greater than the complementary segment of a circle created by a similar section of slot 14a or 14b. In this manner, when the body portions are joined together, as illustrated in FIGURE 2, slot 13a and 13b will accommodate a greater portion of the circumference of the mandrel than will slot 14a and 14b. A longitudinal groove 16 communicating with the circular passageway is positioned in body portion 11 as will be discussed hereafter.

Body portions 11 and 12 may be detachably attached one to the other by such means as screws 17 or other means such as clamps, springs, hooks or any combination thereof. However, whatever means are chosen for detachably attaching body portions 11 and 12 together are provided with a certain amount of fine adjustment to bring the body portions more closely together or not, so as to provide a fine adjustment to the depth of slot 16.

FIGURE 2 illustrates a pipe being wrapped with a single strand 18 of a wrapping material. In this case, the body 3 portions 11 and 12 are fitted together with the strand 18 feeding through groove 16 and around the pipe 19. The direction of rotation of pipe 19 is indicated by arrow 20, and a relative linear motion between the jig and pipe 19 is achieved in the direction of arrow 21.

In FIGURE 3 there is illustrated a pipe 22 on which strands 23 and 24 of wrapping material are being wound. Strands 23 and 24 may be different colours so that the wrapping formed about the pipe 22 has a barber-pole appearance. It should be noted that up to four strands may be simultaneously wrapped about a mandrel in the same fashion.

Step is located so as to be substantially co-linear with edge 16b of groove 16 which is nearer to slot portion 13b in the lateral slot positioned in body portion 11. It will be obvious from FIGURE 2 that as strand 18 of the wrapping material feeds through groove 16 and about pipe 19, the last wound turn of the wrapping material about the pipe will butt against step 15. Since the diameter of slot portions 13a and 14a is such as to accommodate the pipe plus the wrapping material, and the diameter of slot portions 13b and 14b is such as to accommodate only the pipe, it will be obvious that as the strand 18 wraps about the pipe, the last wound turn will force against step 15 and produce the relative linear motion between the jig and the pipe in the direction of arrow 21. Thus, the jig moves along the pipe and a new section of pipe is continuously presented through passageways 13b and 14b to be wrapped at the end of groove 16 communicating with the passageway.

To prevent a loose wrapping and to ensure that adjacent turns of the wrapping material about the pipe are contiguous, the depth of groove 16 is adjusted as discussed above to provide for a small amount of drag on strand 18 as it moves through the groove 16. The drag on strand 18 is not suflicient to overcome the tensile strength of the wrapping material, but it is sufiicient that the strand must be pulled through the groove b the turning action of the pipe within the circular passageway.

In the usual practice, the winding jig 10 is fitted about the pipe 19 and is supported also at point A in FIGURE 2; so that it may move along the pipe 19 as illustrated without in any way turning about the pipe or without in any way altering its aspect relative to a plane beneath and parallel to the longitudinal axis of the pipe.

When winding such items as a pipe, the first several turns are usually hand-wrapped so that the winding jig may be fitted over the pipe in such a manner that step 15 and groove 16 closely co-operate with the last wound turn as discussed above. It is not necessary to wrap more than one or two turns to provide for this relationship. It is also possible to wrap more than one strand of wrapping material such as is illustrated in FIGURE 3; and in fact, depending upon the relative diameter of the article to be wrapped, and the thickness or diameter of the individual strands of wrapping material, up to four strands may be wrapped at the same time. The multiple strands may be accommodated by increasing the width of groove 16 or they may be fed through several closely neighbouring grooves having a common exit at the passageway end. The only condition in that respect is that at least at the communicating end of the groove, step 15 shall be substantially co-linear with the edge of the groove closest to passageway portions 1% and 14b. It is also obvious that the groove may be in body portion 12 or that the groove may be so situated as to be in both body portions in co-operating relationship one with the other.

Step 15 may be perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the mandrel about which the wrapping material is to be wound, or it may be canted at a small angle to at least partially accommodate the angle of the last turn about the mandrel relative to the longitudinal axis thereof.

The winding jig of the present invention may be used for wrapping material about a pipe or other mandrel or a cable or any other desired article, provided only that that article may be sufiiciently supported so that it may be turned, and provided that it has a substantially smooth surface and equal diameter from one end to the other of that portion to be wrapped. By providing the necessary turning apparatus, such as driven and idler rollers acting about the article to be Wrapped, it is possible to support the winding jig in a fixed position and have the article itself move through the jig in a direction opposite to that of arrow 21 in FIGURE 2 In any event, the same relative linear motion between the jig and the article is achieved, and that relative linear motion is produced by the co-action of the last turn about the article against step 15.

The wrapping material to be used in the winding jig of the present invention may be extruded plastic or vinyl, or other plastic or vinyl ribbon or stands, and may also include cord or string, and soft pliable wire. The jig is particularly useful when it is desired to wrap vinyl or other plastics about a pipe. When plastic or vinyl wrapping materials are used, they may be either solid or in the form of hollow tubing. No special cross section of the wrapping material is required; and in fact, wrapping material having a circular cross section is most easily adaptable to the winding jig and is the most economical and readily obtained. The device is particularly useful in wrapping light-weight steel or aluminum tubing for use in freestanding table or floor lamps, pole lamps, garden fumiture, hospital furniture, etc. Particularly when vinyl or plastic is used, a product can be produced having the outer appearance and surface of the vinyl or plastic, and yet having the strength and rigidity of steel or aluminum or other material and which has a pleasing appearance and may be easily cleaned.

The body portions 11 and 12 of the winding jig may be produced from such materials as wood, aluminum, steel, or plastic, provided only that the material may be machined to have included therein the grooves and slots as discussed above, so that the jig may be easily and economically used in a repetitive manner. The outerappearance of the winding jig may vary considerably from that illustrated, provided only that the jig includes groove means through which the wrapping material will feed, and upon which a certain adjustment can be made to provide for drag on the wrapping material; and provided further that a split circular passageway is provided such that when the slot means are co-operatively joined together they accommodate wrapped and unwrapped portions of the article in separate portions of the passageway, and that a step is provided between those portions.

It is apparent, therefore, that other alterations and amendments may be made to the winding jig and a method of using same, any of which alterations and amendments fall within the scope of the appended claims.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. A winding jig having groove means to accommodate at least a single strand of wrapping material; a circular passageway substantially perpendicular to said groove means and communicating therewith; said passageway having two adjacent portions with different diameters on a common axis, each of which diameter is greater than the deth of said groove; said passageway being adapted to be split longitudinally into two portions each comprising complementary segments of a circle; and a step in said passageway between said two adjacent portions having different diameters, said step being substantially co-linear with the edge of said groove means closer to said portion of said passageway having the smaller diameter.

2. A winding jig comprising a first body portion and a second body portion; means for detachably attaching said first body portion to said second body portion; lateral slot means in said first and second body portions in co-operating positions to form a circular passageway, and longitudinal groove means in at least one of said body portions communicating with said passageway; said slot means comprising larger and smaller complementary segments of a circle, the larger segment being in said first body portion; said passageway having two adjacent portions with difierent diameters on a common axis; and a step in said passageway between said two adjacent portions having smaller and larger diameters respectively, said step being substantially co-linear with the edge of said groove means closer to said portion of said slot having the smaller diameter.

6 References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS BILLY S. TAYLOR, Primary Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R. 

